Trent Astronomical Observatory

Find out all about the night sky at Nottingham Trent University's Trent Astronomical Observatory.

Built in 2006 and located on NTU's Clifton campus, the observatory is fully recognised by the International Astronomical Union (Observatory Code: J06). The state-of-the-art facilities at the observatory include a unique 20-inch modified Newtonian and a 14-inch Meade LX200 telescope.

These facilities are used by students from across the University for labs, final year projects or extracurricular astrometry work. They offer the venue for our monthly Open Dome events with the observatory also being used for outreach activities involving schools and the local community as well as the NTU Work Inspiration Scheme. It has also become a learning destination for the Children's University.

Open Dome events

Our Open Dome events include:

a talk focusing on interesting, recent and sometimes surprising topics relating to astronomy.

time for members of the audience to talk to scientists about astronomy and ask questions about topics raised during the event.

either a presentation in our planetarium or a chance to observe the night sky at our observatory.

Our events are supported by the Institute of Physics (IoP) and are designated learning destinations for the Children's University. We put on events specifically for a younger audience and families at least twice a year.